Johnny Riddle

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Johnny Riddle
Cincinnati Redlegs coach (1958)

John Ludy Riddle (October 3, 1905 - December 15, 1998) was a Major League Baseball catcher who played for the Chicago White Sox (1930), Washington Senators (1937), Boston Bees (1937-1938), Cincinnati Reds (1941, 1944-1945), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1948). At the age of 42 in 1948 (as a player/coach), he was the oldest player to appear in a National League game that season. His younger brother was major league pitcher Elmer Riddle.

Johnny Riddle's playing career was unusual in that not only did he once go seven years between major league appearances, it also took a span of nineteen years to appear in seven major league seasons. In those seven seasons, he got into only 98 games, an average of 14 per year.

He made his major league debut on April 17, 1930 (Opening Day) against the Cleveland Indians at Comiskey Park. His last game was September 11, 1948 against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

In his MLB career he was 51-for-214 (.238) with 4 doubles, 1 triple, 11 runs batted in, and 18 runs scored. On defense he made only 5 errors and had a good fielding percentage of .983. Later he was a coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1948-50), St. Louis Cardinals (1952-1955) and Cincinnati Redlegs (1958).

Riddle died at the age of 93 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

[edit] Trivia

Between 1927 and 1947, Riddle played in 1,652 minor league games and batted .297. (1,460-for-4,916)
He played for the Indianapolis Indians of the American Association during 12 of his 19 minor league seasons.
Riddle's nickname was "Mutt."